Television series

The Power

Name: The Power
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Released: 2023
Cast: Toheeb Jimoh, Auliʻi Cravalho, Toni Collette, John Leguizamo, Ria Zmitrowicz

Other titles called The Power: the 1968 film.

A speculative thriller imagining what happens the day teenage girls worldwide develop the ability to electrocute people. It's a premise-driven exploration of power, violence, and social upheaval told across multiple countries and perspectives. Provocative and uneven, it swings between intimate character work and sprawling geopolitical consequence. For viewers drawn to high-concept sci-fi that prioritizes Big Questions over polish.

TVMaze rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like sprawling speculative drama where a big what-if gets pushed through many ordinary lives, and you don't mind the politics turning messy.

Skip it if you want a tight, self-contained thriller; this is wide-angled, spread across continents and characters, so the momentum can feel diffuse and the big ideas get explained in places.

What it asks of you: Nine episodes of about an hour that ask you to track a large cast across several countries and keep several threads in your head at once.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Handmaid's Tale2017

A masterclass in how speculative fiction can examine systemic oppression through intimate storytelling. Both shows use sudden power shifts to interrogate gender, violence, and survival with unflinching precision.

But It's relentlessly bleak and traumatic in ways that can feel repetitive across seasons. If you need hope or levity, this isn't your show.

Yellowjackets2021

Examines how ordinary people become capable of terrible things when normal society collapses. The same restless energy cutting between timelines and revealing moral complexity through action rather than exposition.

But The plotting can feel scattered, and it sometimes mistakes confusion for intrigue. Not every mystery gets satisfying answers.

V1983

An 80s alien invasion miniseries that's actually a allegory about authoritarianism and the speed with which power can be weaponized. Like The Power, it's about sudden vulnerability becoming sudden strength and the violence that follows.

But Dated effects and pacing will test patience. It moves slowly and feels very much of its era, which is part of its charm but not everyone's thing.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Power

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Carrie1976

Both explore the terror that erupts when the powerless suddenly become dangerous, and how that power terrifies not just the powerful but the girls themselves.

De Palma's film about a teenage girl discovering destructive power is the DNA of The Power's premise. A genuinely frightening exploration of adolescent rage and the violence that erupts when someone finally has the means to strike back.

But It's visually and thematically dated in ways that can feel camp. The climax prioritizes shock over the quieter, scarier reality of what comes after.

Raised by Wolves2020

A dense, visually stunning exploration of how belief systems and power corrupt. It shares The Power's willingness to let narrative sprawl across locations and timelines while maintaining thematic coherence.

But The show prioritizes atmosphere and concept over traditional plot clarity. Answers are sparse and intentionally incomplete, which frustrates as much as it intrigues.

Watchmen2019

A miniseries that uses a speculative world to examine race, institutional violence, and power structures. Tightly plotted where The Power sprawls, but with the same moral seriousness about what happens when someone holds all the cards.

But It demands full attention and rewards rewatching, but also moves quickly enough that you might miss things. Dense is putting it mildly.

The Hunger Games2012

A dystopian film series about youth and violence as tools of state control. The Power shares its interest in how young people become symbols in larger power struggles, and what it costs them.

But The later films become increasingly ponderous and political rather than dramatically urgent. If you want propulsive storytelling, this slows down.

Orphan Black2013

A thriller that uses a speculative conceit to explore identity, bodily autonomy, and power. Tatiana Maslany's performance carries multiple perspectives across continents the way The Power's ensemble does, with more momentum.

But The earlier seasons are tighter than later ones. It runs out of new ideas before it finishes, and the ending feels compromised by network interference.

Station Eleven2021

A post-collapse drama that weaves between timelines and locations with grace. Like The Power, it's interested in how systems fail and how people survive, but with more warmth and less anger.

But The pacing is deliberately slow and meditative. If you're looking for tension or propulsive action, you'll find the quiet frustrating.

The Expanse2015

A space opera about power imbalances between factions, featuring ensemble storytelling across multiple worlds. It shares The Power's investment in showing consequences of dominance shifts across different communities.

But The first season is clunky and takes time to find its footing. Early episodes feel exposition-heavy and the chemistry takes time to develop.

The Girl with All the Gifts2016

Both interrogate what happens when society realizes young people are dangerous, and whether compassion survives that knowledge.

A British speculative thriller about a girl who is both weapon and victim, and what survival looks like when you're trapped between two sides. Quieter and more intimate than The Power, but with the same moral weight about using the powerless as tools.

But It's deliberate and slow-burn where The Power sprawls. Some will find it precious; others will find it profound.